Richard Sherman: Not Anyone's Puppet

Richard Sherman attracted more reporters on the NFL’s Super Bowl Media Day than his coach, his quarterback, and even Peyton Manning. “I don’t think a defensive player since Deion Sanders has got this kind of attention,” the opinionated defensive back pointed out, calling Prime Time an “idol.”

“I don’t march to anyone else’s drum,” Sherman announced from his podium at Newark’s Prudential Center.

“I’m not anyone else’s puppet. It’s not always going to be entertaining.”

Though Sherman sang to Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child and accepted an xBox from her, he showed a more laid back, subdued side than the one fans have grown accustomed to. He admitted to reporters of reporters, “Sometimes I make it easy for them.”

Despite the more genial and low-key Sherman, the quote machine offered opinions on a wide array of subjects.

On Parents: “We lived in Watts and Compton,” Sherman relayed. “They made us feel like we lived in a regular neighborhood.” The Stanford graduate said that “everything I do is a testament to them.”

On Kids: Sherman advised young students to “work hard,” “listen to your teachers,” and embrace “humility”–“don’t be afraid to ask your teacher a question.”

On Muhammad Ali: “It’s a blessing,” he said of comparisons to the heavyweight boxer. “He is one of my idols.” Sherman claimed that both he and Ali had faced “racial degradation,” noting that the boxer had endured worse than he has.

On Women: “I’ve never gone in a strip club and thrown money around,” Sherman maintained to a question about what he would tell struggling ladies. He proclaimed, “The ceiling is limitless.”

On Media Day: “It really is a dream come true.”

On the NFL in LA: The Los Angeles-area native is all for a return. “I went to a game at the Coliseum once,” he recalled. “They told me about it more than I remember it.”

On the Seattle Seahawks: The common denominator is that the team plays with a “chip on our shoulder.” Russell Wilson? Too short…. Chris Clemons? Undrafted.” He theorized, “When you get a bunch of guys who have been slighted, they’re pretty motivated.

Sherman appeared gregarious and good-natured rather than pompous and aggressive. “I’m just a part of the Legion,” the me-first-turned-team-first personality relayed. “I’m just a part of the Legion of Boom.”